On my ancestor's Petition for Naturalization: his last name is misspelled (by one letter) throughout the document by the court official whose handwriting is throughout, however in the 3 places where my ancestor signed his name, he signed it very clearly with the correct spelling. The misspelled last name started on the Declaration of Intent, was carried over to the Petition, and also appears on the index card for the file, as filed by the US District Court in Brooklyn. Will the NY consulate accept this as my ancestor, especially because in those 3 places where he signed his name, he signed it using the correct spelling?

Also, his date of birth is correct on the Petition of Naturalization, but again was misread by the court clerk and on the index card was written down incorrectly (by ten years). His year of birth is wrong by one year on the Declaration of Intent.

How can i remedy these discrepancies? Is it enough as I think i've read before, that I can swear on an affidavit that this is my ancestor? Will they require proof behind my claim?

His profession is listed correctly. The town where he lived is correct, however I have not been able to find anything that links him to that street address (the census does not help in this case). They rented homes during this period (in Astoria, Queens), and only later bought a house. Must I find a way to link him to that specific street address to bolster my case?

You can't really correct these documents, and the NY consulate should accept them.

You might want to post over at the Italian Dual Citizenship Message Board (http://italiancitizenship.freeforums.org/index.php) folks there may be able to provide better (more specific) guidance and/or assurances.

NY, as you know, is particularly fussy about discrepancies, and zap is correct that naturalization documents cannot be corrected. There is one very important factor that works in your favor and that is your ancestor's signature, which is the name that HE wrote. This, in combination with an affidavit from a close relative may well be sufficient. The date issues are less important because all the preliminary documents are together, and the date is correct on the Petition, which is the document closest in time to the actual naturalization. Do you also have the oath (often on the back of the petition) and the actual Naturalization certificate?

Do check out the message board link posted by zap. I and many others post there regularly so you will have access to more opinions on this topic. I do think, however, that you will be ok if everything else is straightforward.

EDIT: I reread your note in the "qualifying" section. Are you saying that your ancestor went as far as the petition, but there is no evidence of naturalization? If that's the case, you will probably have to do a "no record" search through NARA, USCIS, and the county courts. You will also need a certified census that lists him as an alien (AL) after his child's birth. If you go this route, you will not need the petition or the declaration since they would only represent a non-completed process. Of course, it's possible that his naturalization certificate is in the incorrect name that appears on his petition. If that's the case, his correct signature on the petition should override the error (and the petition error would explain the certificate error).